You are at netAirspace : Forum : Air and Space Forums : netAirspace Daily News

NEWS

ANA readies for inaugural 787 passenger flight

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is scheduled to fly its first Boeing 787 passenger service Oct. 26. Flight NH7871, a special charter, is expected to take off from Narita Airport at 12:20 local time. The 4 hr. 30 min. flight to Hong Kong will carry mainly international media, ANA and Boeing executives and VIP guests. The aircraft's 100 economy seats were sold to the public as a package that includes a one-night hotel stay in Hong Kong; six business-class seats were also put up for a charity auction sale.
Link

Delta reports Q3 profit of $549 million
Delta Air Lines reported a profit of $549 million for the third quarter, compared with a $363 million profit in the same quarter last year. "We are successfully adapting Delta to the challenging economic environment by producing a solidly profitable quarter in the face of $1 billion of fuel-price pressure," said CEO Richard Anderson. Despite a 51% jump in earnings for the quarter, the carrier missed earnings expectations by analysts because of the high cost of fuel.
Link

Hong Kong equity investor, HNA Group acquire Turkey's ACT Airlines
Hong Kong-based Bravia Capital and Haikou-based HNA Group, parent of Hainan Airlines, said Monday they have acquired Istanbul-based all-cargo carrier ACT Airlines. Financial terms were not disclosed. HNA revealed earlier this year that it would invest in ACT. "The transaction represents the strategic expansion of China's global footprint into the high-growth marketplace of Turkey and surrounding regions," Bravia and HNA said in a joint statement.
Link

Air Berlin delays USD$1.6 bln plane orders
Air Berlin pushed back delivery of 19 aircraft valued at just over USD$1.6 billion at current list prices to shore up cash as it tries to shrink its way back to profitability. Germany's second-biggest airline after Lufthansa said on Tuesday it was postponing delivery of 11 of Airbus's A320 family of planes and eight of Boeing's 737 family due for delivery in 2012 and 2013 until 2015 and 2016.
Link

Thai Airways may reduce int'l flights as floods hit
National carrier Thai Airways said on Tuesday it might reduce international flights from Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport due to a shortage of staff because flooding has made living and travel conditions difficult in the capital.
Link

Wreckage of Societe de Transport Aérien (SATA) Caravelle 10 R near Funchal found 34 years after accident
The wreckage of a SATA Caravelle 10R, registration HB-ICK, which on Dec 18 1977 landed unintentionally in the water while on the base leg to runway 06 at Funchal/Madeira (Portugal), has been located 34 years after the accident by a diver team at 110 meters depth off the coast.
Link
Discussion

Thales U.K. to supply A380 simulator
Thales U.K. has been selected by British Airways (BA) to supply its new A380 full-flight simulator, Thales said Monday. The simulator will be delivered to the British Airways Flight Training Center, Cranebank, located near London's Heathrow Airport, in January 2013.
Link

Qantas Singapore plans may be blocked
National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) is reportedly working behind the scenes lobbying the Singapore government to block Qantas Airways’ bid to establish a full-service short-haul carrier in Singapore, a move by Qantas that threatens to cannibalize SIA’s core business.
Link

Senate asked to review Colgan investigation
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York on Tuesday asked the Senate's aviation subcommittee to schedule a hearing in response to last week's release of email exchanges relevant to the 2009 Colgan Air crash. "The fact that [these emails] were not shared with [NTSB] investigators compels us to take a closer look at how we investigate crashes to make sure NTSB has the best information possible when making critical safety recommendations," Schumer said. The emails, which were revealed by lawyers researching the case, show that airline staffers had expressed concern about the qualifications of the captain of Flight 3407 during his training. The airline's parent company, Pinnacle Airlines, said the captain was properly trained and certified.
Link

Inquiry blames ‘unstable technique’ for Red Checkers crash
A fatal accident involving a Pacific Aerospace CT-4 Airtrainer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's (RNZAF) Red Checkers aerobatic display team in January 2010 happened because its pilot used an "unstable technique", a New Zealand court of inquiry report has concluded.
Link

GoJet seeks DOT approval for CRJ700 delivery from Delta
Regional carrier GoJet Airlines is seeking approval from the Department of Transportation to add aircraft for a contract with Delta Connection. In December, GoJet plans to accept a delivery from Delta Airlines of Bombardier CRJ700s. GoJet also plans to start service for Delta, primarily to and from Detroit, in January.
Link

FAA proposes safety directive for corrosion on Boeing 757s
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a safety directive for airlines to check on corrosion on tail parts of Boeing 757 jets. The corrosion "could lead to loss of control of the horizontal stabilizer and consequent loss of control of the airplane," the FAA said. Boeing supports the proposal.
Link

House approves legislation to exclude U.S. from EU trading scheme
In a bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives voted to exclude U.S. airlines from a proposed emissions trading scheme from the European Union. "It's a tax grab by the European Union," said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. "The meter starts running the minute the plane departs from any point in the U.S. until it reaches Europe." A blog says Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., called the trading scheme a "scam." The same blog reports "Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said if the ETS results in a $2 per ticket extra charge, that's enough to sink the U.S. airline industry."
Link

Airlines warn of new taxes' possible effect on consumers
Members of the aviation industry continue to voice their opposition to two new tax proposals on flights and warn that consumers may be affected by the changes. The new taxes may force airlines to raise fares and cause more travelers to forgo flying altogether, says Ron Ricks, an executive vice president at Southwest Airlines. "At a certain point we just begin to lose business," Ricks said.
Link



Other News

Fiji’s Air Pacific has ordered three Airbus A330s for its fleet renewal program after it canceled its order for eight Boeing 787s in April.

Kuwait Airways (KU) employees called off plans for further strike action after reaching a deal between the union and the acting minister of communications Saleh al-Athaineh, the country’s official news agency Kuna reported.

Thomas Cook Airlines UK (MT) cabin crew members of the Unite union voted to take industrial action over the company’s redundancy plans.

Memphis-based regional Pinnacle Airlines said its flight attendants have ratified a revised tentative agreement to amend their labor contract.

Pluna Lineas Aereas Uruguayas will launch domestic services in Chile in the 2012 first quarter. The airline will operate flights between Santiago (SCL) and Antofagasta, Calama and Concepcion.

Avolon completed a sale and leaseback transaction with Wizz Air for three new Airbus A320 aircraft to be delivered in the first half of 2012.

Air Greenland acquired one Airbus A330-200, which it has operated on lease since 2002, advised by Skytech-AIC.

Airbus opened a new £400 million ($548.7 million) factory in Wales, which will assemble carbon-fiber wings for the new A350 XWB. Airbus said that 650 workers will be based at the Broughton, Flintshire state-of-the-art facility.

Aircastle and Southern Air Holdings have entered into long-term leases, under which Southern Air will utilize two Boeing 747-400SF aircraft owned by Aircastle. The aircraft are expected to enter commercial service during the first quarter of 2012, advancing Southern Air's fleet renewal and business expansion program.




AVIATION QUOTE

What's the hurry? Are you afraid I won't come back?

— Manfred von Richthofen, 'The Red Baron,' last recorded words, in reply to a request for an autograph as he was climbing into the cockpit of his plane.



ON THIS DATE

October 26th

---In 1940…The North American P-51 Mustang long-range fighter makes its maiden flight. Fast and durable, it would help assure Allied air dominance in World War II.

---In 1958…Pan Am inaugurates the first jet service by a U.S. carrier, flying from New York’s Idlewild Airport (now known as John F. Kennedy International Airport) to Paris Orly using a Boeing 707. The airline flew a commemorative flight on the 25th anniversary in 1983.

---In 1962…The last B-52 Stratofortress off the production line, serial number 61-0040, is delivered to the US Air Force. As of last check, the plane nicknamed the “Spirit of Minot” is still in service with the 5th Bomb Wing, 23d Bomb Squadron stationed at Minot Air Force Base, South Dakota.

---In 1967…First flight of the BAC Stikemaster.

---In 1968...First flight of the Embraer EMB-110 Banderiante.
---In 1972…Helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky dies at the age of 83.

---In 1977…A Pan Am Boeing 747SP takes off on a flight to circumnavigate the globe over both poles.

---In 1983…Pan Am celebrates the 25th anniversary of their first Boeing 707 with a 707 flight from JFK International Airport to Paris.

---In 1993…ValuJet commences operations.



DAILY VIDEO





EDITOR’S CHOICE





HUMOR

Cuban girl's mother vs. a white girl's mother

A Cuban girl and a white girl were friends. The Cuban girl slept over the white girl's house. It was 3 a.m., and they were still up. The white girl's mother came downstairs and said, "Honey, don't you think it's time for you
to go to bed?"

The white girl responded, "Shut up Mother, I don't want to go to sleep!"

Her mother said," Okay, honey. You can go to bed later." The Cuban girl was very intrigued by what happened and decided to use that when she got home.

The next night the Cuban girl's mother said to the Cuban girl, "Chica, go to bed! It's late!" The Cuban girl shouted," Shut up Mami, I don't want to go to sleep!" The Cuban girl's mother took one look at her & raised her eyebrow...

The Cuban girl started to blink, looked around, and asked, "Where am I?"

A lady came over to the bed and answered,

"You're in the Intensive Care Unit, Sweetie."



TRIVIA

Silhouettes

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.

1. F-117 Nighthawk
2. AV-8 Harrier
3. A-6 Intruder
4. Mig-15 or Mig-17
5. F-111